Insulated Drinking Container

ABSTRACT

An insulated drinking container having a sidewall structure comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein the inner wall comprises a ceramic material and wherein a gap is provided between the inner wall and the outer wall and an insulating material that is placed in the gap. A sidewall structure for an insulated drinking container having an inner wall comprising a ceramic material, an outer wall, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall are formed such that there is a gap between the inner wall and the outer wall and an insulating material that is inserted in the gap.

PRIORITY CLAIM/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/085,992 entitled “Insulated Drinking Container,” filed on Dec. 1, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

People drinking hot or cold beverages prefer that the beverages retain their temperature profile for as long as possible, e.g., a hot beverage remains hot for as long as possible. The maintaining of the temperature profile allows individuals to derive more enjoyment from their drinks. For example, a person may brew a hot beverage such as coffee or tea and place that beverage in a container. It may take that person several hours to consume the entirety of the beverage. If the beverage is in an open top container, it will be cold by the time the person finishes the beverage and the person will not have the same enjoyment as when the beverage was hot. Thus, containers with lids are used to help the beverage maintain its original temperature. However, the lids only help to maintain the temperature for a slightly longer time than the open top container.

SUMMARY

An insulated drinking container having a sidewall structure comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein the inner wall comprises a ceramic material and wherein a gap is provided between the inner wall and the outer wall and an insulating material that is placed in the gap.

A sidewall structure for an insulated drinking container having an inner wall comprising a ceramic material, an outer wall, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall are formed such that there is a gap between the inner wall and the outer wall and an insulating material that is inserted in the gap.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an insulated drinking container.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the exemplary insulated drinking container.

FIG. 3 shows a second cross-sectional view of the exemplary insulated drinking container.

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of a second exemplary embodiment of an insulated drinking container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe an insulated drinking container that allows the beverages contained in the drinking container to maintain their temperature profile for a longer time over conventional beverage containers. The exemplary embodiments also provide for a better taste profile for the beverage over other containers. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the insulated drinking container containing a hot beverage, but it should be understood that the insulated drinking container will provide the same advantages for cold beverages, e.g., it will keep the cold beverages cold for a longer period of time and provide for a better taste profile.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an insulated drinking container 100. The insulated drinking container 100 includes a bottom portion 110, a top portion 120 and a sidewall portion 130. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary shape and exemplary measurements for the insulated drinking container 100. However, it should be understood that the shape and measurements are only exemplary and the insulated drinking container 100 may take on any shape and have any dimensions.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary cross-sectional view of the insulated drinking container 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the sidewall portion 130 comprises a pair of walls, outer wall 133 and inner wall 137, with a gap 135 between the walls 133 and 137. The double wall sidewall portion 130 may be constructed of any type of material such as a ceramic, stainless steel, glass, plastic, a composite, etc. As will be described in further detail below, it is also possible that the outer wall 133 is constructed from a different material than the inner wall 137.

The top portion 120 includes a single wall 125, but it is also possible that the double wall structure of the sidewall portion 130 may be extended to the rim 127. It should be understood that the rim 127 is the area from which a person may drink from the insulated drinking container 100. It is further noted that the top portion 120 may also be arranged to receive a lid to seal the insulated drinking container 100. The top portion 120 may be made from the same or a different material as the sidewall portion 130.

The bottom portion 110 may include a bottom seal 112 that is secured to the sidewall portion 130 using a screw 115. The bottom portion 110 may also include a pad 117 that is secured to the bottom seal 112 to hide the screw 115 and provide a surface that may be placed onto desks, tables, etc, such that the insulated drinking container 100 will not scratch the surfaces when placed on the surfaces. The bottom seal 112 may be made from the same or a different material as the sidewall portion 130, while the pad 117 may be made from a material such as plastic, rubber, polyethylene, etc. that will not cause abrasion to a surface on which the insulated drinking container 100 is placed.

FIG. 3 shows a second exemplary cross-sectional view of the insulated drinking container 100. In this view, it is shown that an insulating material 140 is placed into the gap 135 between the inner wall 137 and the outer wall 133. The insulating material may also be placed between the inner wall 137 and the bottom seal 112. The insulating material 140 provides insulating properties that allow beverages or foods placed into the insulated drinking container 100 to maintain their temperature for a longer time (e.g., hot or cold) than without any insulation.

Examples of insulating materials 140 may include quilted or semi-quilted flexible microporous insulation panels. Examples of such materials are the Promat Microtherm (Semi-) Quilted range of products. Another example of insulating material 140 may include a pourable microporous powder such as a pyrogenic silica. Examples of such materials are the Promat Freeflow range of products. In a further example, the insulating materials 140 may be a foam type insulation such as polyurethane blowing agent. Those skilled in the art will understand that such blowing agents may be sprayed into the gap or injected into the gap in a liquid form and may then expand into a foam like substance to provide the insulating characteristics.

Tests using different insulating materials 140 have shown that a hot beverage placed in the insulated drinking container 100 will maintain its temperature profile for 3-6 hours. For example, the generally accepted ideal temperature for drinking coffee is above 155° F. The tests have shown that coffee that is brewed at the recommended temperature of between 195° F.-205° F. that is then placed in the insulated drinking container 100 will maintain the coffee above 155° F. for the above mentioned 3-6 hours depending on the insulating materials 140. Those skilled in the art will also understand the above assumes that a lid is placed on the insulated drinking container 100 to keep the heat from leaving through the opening of the top portion 120.

The following provides an example of a manufacturing process for the insulated drinking container 100. It should be noted that this exemplary manufacturing process is only one example, where the sidewall portion 130 and the top portion 120 are formed from a ceramic material. Other processes may also be used to manufacture ceramic versions of the insulated drinking container 100 and further processes may be used to manufacture insulated drinking containers 100 from other materials.

In a first step, a clay outer mug is formed, e.g., the outer wall 133 of the sidewall portion 130 and the wall 125 of the top portion 120. Then, the inner wall 137 is also formed from clay and the inner wall 137 and the outer wall 133 are joined in the area 139 as shown in FIG. 3. The inner wall 137, the outer wall 133 and the wall 125 of the top portion 120 are baked/fired in a kiln causing the clay to become stoneware. From the opening 150 on the bottom of the mug, the insulating material 140 is placed into the gap 135. As shown in FIG. 3, before the bottom seal 112 is attached to the inner wall 137, there is an opening 150 through which the insulating material 140 may be placed into the gap 135. As described above, if the insulating material is a pourable powder type material or a blowing agent, this may be poured, sprayed or injected into the gap 135 via the opening 150, thereby filling the gap 135. If the insulating material 140 is a quilted panel type material, the material may be forced into the gap 135 via the opening 150. In another exemplary embodiment, the insulating powder may be enclosed in a flexible material (e.g. cloth, paper, plastic, etc.), which may then be inserted into the gap 135 in the same manner as the quilted panel type insulating material. Once the insulating material 140 is placed in the gap 135, the bottom seal 112 is applied using the screw 115 to close off the gap 135. The bottom pad 117 is then added to hide the screw assembly 117 and prevent scratches to desk/tables.

As stated above, the exemplary insulated drinking container 100 also provide a better taste profile than other containers that claim insulating properties because the inner wall 137 is made from a ceramic material. That is, it has been found that drinking hot beverages such as coffee or tea from a ceramic cup is a better experience than drinking from materials such as steel, paper or Styrofoam. However, these other materials may have a better insulating characteristic than ceramic by itself. However, the exemplary insulated drinking container 100 addresses both of these issues. The insulating properties of the insulated drinking container 100 allow for good insulating and temperature characteristics and the use of ceramic for the drinking portion allows for the good taste profile.

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of a second exemplary embodiment of an insulated drinking container 200. The insulated drinking container 200 includes a bottom portion 210, a top portion 220 and a sidewall portion 230. The insulated drinking container 200 further includes an outer wall 233, an inner wall 237 and an insulated gap 235. In this exemplary embodiment, the inner wall 237 is constructed of ceramic. Since the inner wall 237 is the portion of the insulated drinking container 200 that comes in contact with the beverage and from which the person drinks, this exemplary embodiment also has the advantage of providing the advantageous taste profile due to the ceramic. The insulated gap 235 also provides the insulating characteristics that provide the advantageous temperature profile.

However, in this exemplary embodiment, the outer wall 233 is constructed of a different material than the inner wall 237. This different material may be any type of material such as stainless steel, plastic, etc. This different material may allow for a different construction of the insulated drinking container 200 than described above for the insulated drinking container 100. For example, the inner wall 237 may be constructed in the same manner as described above and fired in a kiln to create the stoneware inner wall 237. If the insulated gap 235 is to be insulated with the quilted panel type insulating material or the insulated powder material that is enclosed within another flexible material, this insulating material may be glued or otherwise attached to the inner wall 237. The outer wall 233 may then be attached to the insulation material and/or the inner wall 237 to form the insulated drinking container 200. Again, the outer wall 233 may be attached to the other components by, for example, gluing, molding, pressure fitting, etc., the outer wall 233 to the insulation material and/or the inner wall 237.

If the insulating material is the pourable powder type material or a blowing agent, the outer wall 233 may be attached to the inner wall 237 and then the insulating material may be inserted into the gap 235. In this embodiment, a bottom seal may not be used because the outer wall 233 may be constructed such that it surrounds the entirety of the bottom portion 210. In another embodiment, a mold may be placed around the inner wall to create the gap 235. The mold may be made of any suitable material (e.g., steel, aluminum, a composite, etc). The mold may have holes or vias through which the pourable powder type insulating material or blowing agent insulating material may be inserted into the gap 235. The mold may then be removed or repositioned and the outer wall 233 may then be attached to the insulation material and/or the inner wall 237 to form the insulated drinking container 200.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An insulated drinking container, comprising: a sidewall structure comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein the inner wall comprises a ceramic material and wherein a gap is provided between the inner wall and the outer wall; and an insulating material that is placed in the gap.
 2. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, wherein the insulating material is one of a quilted insulation panel, a semi-quilted insulation panel, a pourable microporous powder, a foam material or a polyurethane blowing agent.
 3. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, wherein the outer wall comprises one of ceramic, stainless steel, glass, plastic, or a composite material.
 4. The insulated drinking container of claim 3, wherein the inner wall and outer wall comprise different materials.
 5. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, further comprising: a bottom portion that seals the insulating material in the air gap.
 6. The insulated drinking container of claim 5, wherein the bottom portion is coupled to the inner wall.
 7. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall meet and wherein a further single wall structure extends past the location where the inner wall and outer wall meet, the further single wall structure forming an upper rim of the insulated drinking container.
 8. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall meet to form an upper rim of the insulated drinking container.
 9. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, wherein the insulating material is glued to the inner wall.
 10. The insulated drinking container of claim 1, further comprising: a lid to seal an upper portion of the insulated drinking container.
 11. A sidewall structure for an insulated drinking container, comprising: a inner wall comprising a ceramic material; an outer wall, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall are formed such that there is a gap between the inner wall and the outer wall; and an insulating material that is inserted in the gap.
 12. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the insulating material is one of a quilted insulation panel, a semi-quilted insulation panel, a pourable microporous powder, a foam material or a polyurethane blowing agent.
 13. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the outer wall comprises one of ceramic, stainless steel, glass, plastic, or a composite material.
 14. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall meet at a location and wherein a further single wall structure extends past the location where the inner wall and outer wall meet, the further single wall structure forming an upper rim of the insulated drinking container.
 15. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the inner wall and the outer wall meet to form an upper rim of the insulated drinking container.
 16. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the insulating material is initially inserted as a liquid that expands into a foam insulation after insertion.
 17. The sidewall structure of claim 11, wherein the insulating material is a powder that is enclosed in a flexible material, wherein the flexible material including the powder is inserted into the gap. 